Research
your family tree long enough, and you will see theories on how the
names of children were chosen. There are many versions of this scheme,
but all have certain elements in common. Remember that as theories,
these rules are not hard and fast but rather are tendencies. These
rules generally follow the form:

The
first son was named for the paternal grandfather.

The
first son was named for the maternal grandfather.

The
first son was named for the father.

The
first son was named for the milkman . . .

Oh wait,
that's another article!

Seriously
though, these naming trends can provide clues when you are reasonably
certain the family was naming children for other family members. Surf
enough genealogy websites, and you are certain to run into one of
several guides to how children were named in a certain culture, time
period, or social class. I was never a big fan of these guides, not
because they were wrong, but because people assumed these naming
conventions were always correct. There are several guides to how
children were named, one of which are reproduced here:

Males

First-born
son: named after the father's father

Second-born
son: named after the mother's father

Third-born
son: named after the father

Fourth-born
son: named after the father's eldest brother

Fifth-born
son: named after the father's second oldest brother or
mother's oldest brother

Females

First-born
daughter: named after the mother's mother

Second-born
daughter: named after the father's mother

Third-born
daughter: named after the mother

Fourth-born
daughter: named after the mother's eldest sister

Fifth-born
daughter: named after the mother's second oldest sister or
father's oldest sister

The death
of a child, both grandmothers having the same first name, family
dynamics (translation: "I absolutely am not naming a child
after your
father!"), and host of situations can alter how close a given
family
sticks to any trend in naming children. The degree with which a family
follows any naming pattern tendency can also vary greatly given the
time period and the culture. Naming patterns that are ethnically based
may also be less used after the family has immigrated to another
country and begin the assimilation process. I decided to test the
naming theory with some of my own families.

Three Wives, Fourteen Children, and Twelve NamesFocke
Tammen (1803-72) from Buhren, Ostfriesland, Germany, had three wives
with whom he had a total of fourteen children. He was married to his
first wife, Altje, from 1821 until her death in 1835; his second wife,
Maria, from 1836 until her death in 1840; and his third wife, Tjede,
from 1841 until his death in 1872. He was the father of the following
children:

Johann
(1822-before 1834), named for the mother's father

Tjode
Anna (1824-82), named for the father's mother

Reenste
(1826-92), named for the mother's mother

Tutter
(abt. 1831-33), named for the father's grandmother

Johann
(1834-35), named for the mother's father

Altje
(1837-93), named for the father's first wife

Marie
(1840-40), named for her mother, Marie, who died the day after she was
born

Willm
(1841-41), named for her mother's father

Unnamed
(1843-43)

Willm
(1844- ), named for her mother's father

Focke
(1846-1938), named for her father

Marie
(1849- ), named for her father's second wife

Foolke
(1852- ), uncertain

Tamme
(1856- ), named for her father's oldest brother

An analysis
of several other families from this same area and time period revealed
a similar pattern. The naming order was not consistent, but virtually
every child was named for another family member. There were times where
the names of extended family members were used, especially in families
that had a high number of children of the same gender.

There were
two naming conventions noted in families from this geographic area.
Naming a child after the mother who died in childbirth was a common
practice as was naming a later child after a previously deceased wife.
Re-using the name of a deceased child was another relatively common
occurrence. (I've seen families "re-use"� names three or four times,
although this is somewhat unusual.) The re-use of names was not a
universal practice, and the researcher should determine if it were used
in the area and time period under study. Consult appropriate genealogy
how-to guides such as the research outlines of the Family History
Library (www.familysearch.org)
or search archives of the various mailing lists at RootsWeb (http://lists.rootsweb.com).

It Was Only EuropeansFamilies
from other areas also followed similar naming practices. Thomas Johnson
Rampley and Christianna DeMoss were married in Baltimore County,
Maryland, in 1800. Their six children were all named for other family
members as well:

Mary
(born 1800) named for the mother's mother.

James
(born 1803) named for the father's father.

Sarah
(born 1810) named for father's mother.

Jemima
(born 1813) named for father's sister and mother's sister.

Elizabeth
named for father's sister.

John
(born ca. 1820) named for mother's father.

Names May Come from More Than Just FamilyFamily
members are not the only places from which names of children could be
obtained. Some families confuse genealogists even more by naming all
children except one for family members (leaving it to us to determine
which child is the red herring). Names from outside the family could
come from popular culture, regional or national leaders, Biblical or
church references, or neighbors. Popular references can confuse
genealogists when the popular reference fades from common knowledge.

A search of
Ancestry's 1850 census index indicates that there were:

34
individuals with the first and middle name Lorenzo Dow

69
individuals with the first and middle name Thomas Jefferson

34
individuals with the first and middle name Benjamin Franklin

The last
two are well-known, but not everyone knows that Lorenzo Dow was a
well-known preacher in early United States history. If your ancestor
appears to have been named for someone, perform a Google search (www.google.com) for his or her first
and middle name and see what results are obtained. Similar searches of
appropriate local, regional, and state histories may also reveal a
figure with the same first and last name as your ancestor's first and
middle name.

A Clue to a Surname?First
names that are also last names can be clues as to maiden names.
Remember though that these names are clues, not guarantees.

Riley
Rampley was born in Coshocton County, Ohio, in 1835 the son of James
and Elizabeth (Chaney) Rampley. Is Riley a surname in his background? I
am not certain. His paternal lines are well-documented as far back as
his parents likely would have known. His maternal grandfather was a
Thomas Chaney, whose wife (and Riley's grandmother) was a native of
Ireland. Does Riley's first name indicate her maiden name was Riley?
Not necessarily. His first name may be a clue as to this grandmother's
maiden name or it may absolutely no connection to his heritage at all.

What to Do?Use
names of children as potential leads to earlier generations of the
family. Keep in mind that these names are only circumstantial clues.
The name of a couple's first male child is not proof that one of the
child's grandfathers had that same first name. A child having a certain
name is proof that the child had that name and that perhaps another
family member had that name. Unusual first names passed down in a
family can indicate a potential relationship, but actual records must
be used in order to substantiate that connection.

First and
middle names may be clues to your ancestor's past, but treating them
like facts may cause you to waste valuable time and resources.

Michael
John Neill is the Course I Coordinator at the Genealogical Institute of
Mid America (GIMA) held annually in Springfield, Illinois, and is also
on the faculty of Carl Sandburg College in Galesburg, Illinois. Michael
is currently a member of the board of the Federation of Genealogical
Societies (FGS) www.fgs.org. He
conducts seminars and lectures nationally on a wide variety of
genealogical and computer topics and contributes to several
genealogical publications, including Ancestry Magazine and Genealogical
Computing. You can e-mail him at mjnrootdig@myfamily.com or
visit his website at www.rootdig.com,
but he regrets that he is unable to assist with personal research.